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• On-Air personality & co-host of KISS-FM’s popular
OPEN LINE SHOW, Sunday morning talk show;
• Former music producer for Fox Network’s highly rated
weekly crime drama New York Undercover;
• Featured Commentator on the Wake Up Club featuring Jeff
Fox, Talent, Shaila and Bob Slade from 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. weekdays;
• A former jazz percussionist, Mtume moved into urban contemporary
and funk in the late '70s, and became one of the more successful
producers and performers in both styles during the '80s.
• The son of the great jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath, Mtume
was a conga player and percussionist who recorded and toured with
Miles Davis and has been featured on albums by the Heath Brothers,
Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, and Freddie Hubbard.
• Mtume recorded as a bandleader for Strata-East before turning
to funk in the late '70s. Mtume's band included the sassy, sultry
vocalist Tawatha Agee, keyboardist Phil Fields, and bassist Ray
Johnson. Mtume, the band, had a number one R&B hit with "Juicy
Fruit" for Epic Records in 1983 and a number 2 R&B single
in 1984 with "You, Me and He". Mtume recorded for Epic
until the late '80s. Their final Top Ten hit was "Breathless"
in 1986. Mtume produced and/or wrote for such artists as Stephanie
Mills, Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway, Phyllis Hyman, Gary Bartz,
Sadane, Lou Rawls, Rena Scott, Eddie Henderson in the late '70s,
Levert, Tyrone Brunson, Roy Ayers, Henderson and Tease. Roots and
Influences: Miles Davis and Pharoah Sanders. Mtume’s hits
for Robert Flack and Donny Hathaway include “The Closer I
Get To You” and “Back Together Again”, both platinum
sellers and widely viewed “classic songs” in the business.
• Mtume is a two time Grammy Award winning producer and writer
for his work on “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin”, the
album that catapulted Stephanie Mills to fame in the 80s.
• Mtume scored the film “Native Son” in the late
80s and is popular producer for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Jodice
and other Hip Hop singers and rappers.
• Politically conscious, Mtume always gives the listening
audience the “3rd Answer” on music, politics and events.
There is, as he always says, “the right answer, the wrong
answer and, of course, the third answer --- the answer you never
really thought about”.
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